- ETF’s and mutual funds offer the most options for monthly dividends because of their fixed-income investments
- There are currently 46 stocks that pay monthly dividends
- People want monthly dividends for income purposes
- Some people also feel that monthly dividends will compound quicker if reinvested
- Read on to find the monthly dividend investment that’s right for you
Many investors are interested in monthly income for the simple reason that most bills are owed monthly. If you’re truly relying on your investments for income, then it is ideal for cash inflows to match cash outflows.
However, most investments that pay income do so on a quarterly basis. Some pay annually, others semi-annually. But, the norm seems to be quarterly.
Fortunately, there are exceptions. I’ve put together some of those exceptions below. Here, you’ll find lists of stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds that all pay monthly income.
Furthermore, you probably want to know how much income these investments pay. So, I’ll list the average yield (a/o December 2019) and what that would mean in terms of monthly income for a $100,000 investment.
Which ETFs pay monthly dividends?
Bond ETF average yield – 2.46% ($205/mo)
Equity ETF average yield – 3.19% ($266/mo)
Real estate ETF average yield – 5.68% ($473/mo)
There’s no shortage of ETFs that pay a monthly dividend. These ETFs invest in bonds, equities, and, in a couple of instances – commodities. Not surprisingly, there are also some that invest exclusively in real estate and preferred stock.
Rather than listing all of the ETFs here, I’ll just link to the authority on ETFs.
See the complete listing here
The ETF database is a very comprehensive site that does a great job of answering any ETF related questions you might have. I refer to it often
ETFs are grouped by asset class. Along with the name and the symbol of the ETF, the tables also list the Assets (Millions) and Yield over 12 months.
Keep in mind, though, this particular page is about five years old. So, some of the information is outdated. If you’re interested in researching a particular ETF, you can click on the link or, research elsewhere. Also, even though the list is very extensive, because of
Just as with mutual funds, ETFs in the bond asset class comprises the biggest number of monthly dividend payers (202 out of 246 total).
What stocks pay monthly dividends?
Stocks average yield – 9.67% ($806/mo)
If you’re interested in receiving monthly dividends from individual stocks, there are options available. Though, not as many as with
Here is the source of my info for stocks that pay monthly dividends.
This list is updated for 2019. Since the linked site is geared towards dividends, it should serve as a good reference going forward
The title of the linked post states that there are 56 monthly dividend stocks. However, some have subsequently suspended their dividend.
The author also writes about the commonly-held notion that monthly dividend payers compound more favorably than quarterly dividend-paying investments. That’s not something that I was able to find support for in the anecdotal research I conducted. More on that in the next post.
In addition to the name and ticker, SureDividend.com provides Price, Dividend Yield, Market Cap, P/E Ratio, and Payout Ratio. What it doesn’t have (and what I was curious about) was which sector each stock was in. So, I looked this information up and compiled the list below:
Basic materials
Gold Resource Corporation (GORO)
Communication services
Shaw Communications (SJR)
Energy
Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT)
Enerplus (ERF)
Inter Pipeline (IPPLF)
Pembina Pipeline (PBA)
Permian Basin Royalty Trust (PBT)
Sabine Royalty Trust (SBR)
Vermilion Energy (VET)
Financial services
Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores (AVAL)
Ellington Financial (EFC)
Great Elm Capital Corporation (GECC)
Gladstone Investment Corporation (GAIN)
Gladstone Capital Corporation (GLAD)
Horizon Technology Finance (HRZN)
Itau Unibanco (ITUB)
Main Street Capital (MAIN)
Oxford Square Capital (OXSQ)
Pennant Park Floating Rate (PFLT)
Prospect Capital Corporation (PSEC)
Solar Senior Capital (SUNS)
U.S. Global Investors (GROW)
Industrials
Chorus Aviation (CHRRF)
Exchange Income Corporation (EIFZF)
Real estate
American Finance Trust (AFIN)
AGNC Investment (AGNC)
Apple Hospitality REIT (APLE)
ARMOUR Residential REIT (ARR)
Broadmark Realty Capital (BRMK)
Choice Properties REIT (PPRQF)
Chatham Lodging (CLDT)
Dream Office REIT (DRETF)
Dream Industrial REIT (DREUF)
Dynex Capital (DX)
Granite Real Estate Investment Trust (GRP.U)
Gladstone Commercial Corporation (GOOD)
Gladstone Land Corporation (LAND)
LTC Properties (LTC)
Realty Income (O)
Orchid Island Capital (ORC)
SL Green Realty Corp. (SLG)
Stag Industrial (STAG)
Whitestone REIT (WSR)
Utilities
Global Water Resources (GWRS)
Transalta Renewables (TRSWF)
Superior Plus (SUUIF)
Of course, if you’ve spent any time researching dividends in general, or monthly dividends in particular, you’ll recognize (O) Realty Income Corporation – the bellwether of the monthly dividend stock community.
Previously, I wrote about the characteristics of quality high-dividend stocks. In that post, I touched on how consistent earnings, the right business model, and solid financials are important considerations when investing for dividends. I would say those characteristics are triply important for monthly dividend stocks.
Which mutual funds pay monthly dividends?
Mutual funds average yield – 2.24%* ($187/mo)
*estimated
There are a lot of mutual funds that pay monthly dividends. In fact, there might be so many that nobody’s ever bothered to compile a list before? I couldn’t find one, anyways…
*EDIT: I did, finally, find a comprehensive list of monthly dividend paying mutual funds. Here it is.
Therefore, I thought I’d at least get one started with the first 50 mutual funds I could find. That list is as follows:
- ABNDX The Bond Fund of America
- ADVDX Aberdeen Dynamic Dividend Instl
- AFTEX The Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America
- AHITX American High-Income Trust
- AIBAX Intermediate Bond Fund of America
- AMHIX American High-Income Municipal Bond Fund
- AMUSX U.S. Government Securities Fund
- ASBAX Short-Term Bond Fund of America
- ASTEX American Funds Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund
- AZNDX Allianz NACM Income & Growth D
- BFCAX American Funds Corporate Bond Fund
- BMBSX Baird Quality Intermediate Muni Bd Inv
- DAMDX Dunham Monthly Distribution A
- DCMDX Dunham Monthly Distribution Fund Class C
- DNMDX Dunham Monthly Distribution N+
- DXKSX Direxion Monthly 7-10 Year Treasury Bear 2X Fund
- DXRSX Direxion Monthly Small Cap Bear 2X Fund
- DXSSX Direxion Monthly S&P 500 Bear 2X Fund Investor Class
- DXSTX Direxion Monthly 30 Year Treasury Bear 1X Fund Investor Class
- EBNAX American Funds Emerging Markets Bond Fund
- FAINX Fallen Angels Income
- FKINX Franklin Income A1
- FRIAX Franklin Income Adv
- GABUX Gabelli Utilities AAA
- INUTX Columbia Dividend Opportunity Fund
- LSBDX Loomis Sayles Bond Instl
- LSBRX Loomis Sayles Bond Retail
- LTEBX Limited Term Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of America
- MCIYX Marshall Corporate Income Y
- MFAAX American Funds Mortgage Fund
- NBHAX Neuberger Berman Equity Income Fund
- NOIEX Northern Income Equity
- NYAAX American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund of New York
- PRDGX T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth Fund
- PREMX T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Bond
- PTMDX Pimco Mortgage-Backed Securities D
- SAMIX Saratoga Moderately Agrsv Bal Allc I
- SVAAX Federated Strategic Value Dividend Fund
- SWJRX Schwab Monthly Income Fund – Moderate Payout
- SWKRX Schwab Monthly Income Fund – Enhanced Payout
- SWLRX Schwab Monthly Income Fund – Maximum Payout
- TAFTX The Tax-Exempt Fund of California
- TRLAX Retirement Income 2020
- VDAIX Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund
- VDIGX Vanguard Dividend Growth Fund
- VEIRX Vanguard Equity Income Fund
- VFISX Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Inv
- VHDYX Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index Fund
- VPGDX Vanguard Managed Payout Fund
- VWEHX Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Inv
About the list
Not surprisingly, a lot of the funds that pay monthly dividends are invested in fixed-income securities, like bonds. But, you’ll also find that there are quite a few invested in equities too.
Each fund can be researched on Morningstar, or at any other website of your choosing.
I didn’t add any other information besides the symbol and the name because that sort of information isn’t evergreen. Whatever the NAV, yield, assets, and expenses might be in April of 2019, they will probably change by the time you read this post. Maybe drastically. So, better to leave you to just go look up the symbol yourself at a site that will have up-to-date information.
This list is not comprehensive, admittedly. I dug around and listed the first 50 examples that I could find. I’m guessing that there are quite a few more.
If you know of a fund that should be included on this list – let me know down in the comments. I’d like to make it as comprehensive as possible with the help people like you.
What investments pay monthly income?
The only other “investment” that I can think of which pays monthly dividends would be real estate. Real estate, however, doesn’t really fit into the theme of this website. Though, it is a perfectly viable investment.
Selling covered calls might also be considered a strategy for earning monthly income.
Both of those are kind of a stretch. But, is there anything that I left off which does belong in this post?
A fixed annuity is another investment that can pay a monthly income. Yields vary, but fixed annuities can pay in the 7% to 8% range. This income might not have the tax advantages of some of the monthly income investments listed above either. Additionally, getting out of a fixed annuity can be costly or downright impossible.
Fixed annuities are another investment that are kind of beyond the scope of this website. They are an option, however. So, I thought I should mention them.
Also, don’t forget to contribute to the list of mutual funds that pay monthly dividends.
